New coronavirus guidelines announced, effective from April 1

New Delhi : The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a set of fresh guidelines on Tuesday, and said that no economic activity will be stopped in the nation outside containment zones. The states have been allowed to form their own rules by assessing the situation. The fresh guidelines will come to effect from April 1 onwards.

All the states have been asked to strictly test-track-treat protocol to ensure COVID-19 spread can be kept under control.

The Centre has also asked the states to pace up the vaccination process so that all priority groups can be vaccinated at earliest. An uneven pace of vaccination has been registered in many states and the Union Territories.

“Vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission. Therefore, all state/UT governments should rapidly step up the pace of vaccination, to cover all priority groups in an expeditious manner,” the fresh guidelines mentioned.

Home Ministry also mentioned that the states which have less RT-PCR tests must increase them to 70 per cent.

Based on the Covid-positive cases and the tracking of their contacts, district authorities will need to mark containment zones and notify them on websites.

The Centre has also asked the states to penalize people for not following social covid-19 guidelines like wearing masks, sanitizing and distancing in work places and in public, especially in crowded places.

Meanwhile, no interstate and intrastate movement of people would be restricted throughout the nation.

All activities will be allowed outside the containment zones, with SOPs. This means the government will not stop trains, flights, metros, schools, colleges, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, multiplexes, parks, yoga centres, gyms and gatherings.